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ID tip
It is a medium sized bittern at 54–66 cm (21–26 in) in length. It has dark upperparts with a dark bill. The male is black above with buff neck sides and with a neck is heavily streaked with brown. The female is dark brown rather than black. The juvenile is like the female but paler. They can be difficult to see, given their skulking lifestyle and reed bed habitat, but tend to fly fairly frequently when the all black upperparts makes them unmistakable.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Black Bittern
The black bittern is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia, and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Stripe-backed BitternBotaurus involucrisStripe-backed bitterns are very small, averaging from 28 to 35 cm in length.
Least BitternBotaurus exilisThe least bittern is one of the smallest herons in the world, with perhaps only the dwarf bittern and the black-backed bittern averaging smaller in length.
Cinnamon BitternBotaurus cinnamomeusIt is a small bittern at 38 cm (15 in) length.
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